UWI Principal Boasts of Success of AI Conference

Day one of the UWI Five Islands Campus second annual Artificial Intelligence (AI) has concluded and already the UWI FIC Principal is lauding the impact the conference is already making.

It was standing room only at UWIFIC on Monday as hundreds of academics, AI experts and enthusiasts, policy makers and other stakeholders gathered in Antigua for the two-day Artificial Intelligence Annual Research Conference, under the theme “Bridging Digital Frontiers: AI For Caribbean Sustainability”.

Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of UWI Dr C. Justin Robinson spoke highly of the event.

He shared his gratitude for the support seen thus far.

“I want to send a massive thank you to Antigua and Barbuda for their tremendous support for this conference. As you’re aware, last year was the first edition and we surpassed all our expectations and this year we have almost like a 50% increase. So, we have almost 500 people coming through this conference.

“So again, we really want to thank Antigua and Barbuda for their tremendous support. We had a fantastic first day,” Dr Robinson proclaimed.

Dr. Robinson believes that through this conference persons will be motivated within the region to truly grasp AI and implement various systems to aid in the upliftment and security of the Caribbean.

“You know, we need AI systems designed with Caribbean resilience in mind. We need systems that predict hurricanes, but also that understand our dialects and our own issues. We can’t have the AI revolution ignoring us because our data is insufficient or non-standard. So, this conference really is about us moving from being digital subjects to digital citizens that we own this revolution and shape it in a manner that we maximize the benefits to us and minimize the downsides.

“So, I really see this conference as the beginning of our digital liberation,” he concluded.

He believes with the right guidance that this can be achieved as there is a significant interest in AI in the region.

The conference continued through Tuesday, featuring panels on AI applications for sustainable development goals and concluding with a “crystal ball” session examining what the Caribbean might look like in 2030 under AI transformation.